Mexico announces largest fentanyl seizure in history. The timing may not be a coincidence.

Mexican soldiers and marines have seized more than a ton of fentanyl pills in two raids in the north, in what officials say is the largest seizure of the synthetic opioid in the country's history.

The raids came after a sharp drop in fentanyl seizures in Mexico earlier this year, and days after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico unless these countries reduce the flow of migrants and drugs across the border.

Experts say it may not be a coincidence.

“It's clear that the Mexican government has been managing the timing of fentanyl seizures,” said security analyst David Saucedo. “But under pressure from Donald Trump, the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum seems willing to increase the arrests of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington wants.”

Saucedo said that it is clear that the Mexican government “does not see fentanyl as one of their own problems, and that fighting it is not their priority,” adding that there would only be large busts “when there is pressure from Washington.” “

Mexico's top security official said that soldiers and marines late Tuesday saw two men carrying guns in the northern state of Sinaloa, where the drug cartel of the same name is based.

They ran at the men, who ran to two houses. In one house troopers found about 660 pounds of fentanyl, and in the other a truck full of about 1,750 pounds of the drug, mostly in pill form.

“In Sinaloa, we received the largest seizure in the history of fentanyl,” wrote Secretary of Public Safety Omar Garcia Harfuch in his social media accounts. Several firearms were also seized and two men were arrested.

President Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that “this is an investigation that has been going on for some time, and yesterday it bore fruit.” “

But that claim is at odds with the apparently random nature of the bust, which began when an armed patrol “noticed that there were two men carrying what appeared to be guns.” “

In the past, Mexican security forces have sometimes used the story of following armed men running into houses as a reason to enter homes without search warrants. In at least one case, the government's version was corroborated by security camera footage.

The latest draw was surprising as fentanyl seizures in Mexico had dropped significantly in the first half of the year. At times this summer, under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, federal forces reported seizures of as little as 50 grams (2 ounces) per week.

Figures for the first half of 2024 show that Mexican federal forces seized only 286 pounds (130 kilograms) of fentanyl across the country between January and June, down 94% from the 5,135 pounds (2,329 kilograms) seized capture in 2023.

The synthetic opioid has been blamed for about 70,000 overdose deaths each year in the United States, and US officials have stepped up efforts to intercept it as it comes across the border, often in the form of fake pills made in Mexico from mostly precursor chemicals. imported from China.

As “60 Minutes” reportedThe fentanyl crisis began 10 years ago when the cartels began wresting control of the supply chain from China, buying the drug's precursor chemicals to make fentanyl themselves in clandestine labs in Mexico . In 2019, China “scheduled,” or stopped, the end of fentanyl from being exported to the US, cementing the cartels' greater control over the pipeline.

López Obrador always denied it that fentanyl is even produced in Mexico, although experts – and even members of his own administration – admit that it is.

And if Mexico does not go after these fentanyl production facilities, they will continue to churn out similar quantities in the future.

“It's a big catch,” Saucedo said. “But if they don't eliminate the labs, this kind of production will continue.”

Also on Wednesday, the US State Department announced that it was increase the reward for another top cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera, from $10 million to $15 million.

Oseguera, nicknamed “El Mencho,” leads the Jalisco cartel, which like Sinaloa, is heavily involved in the production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamines.

Last month, the son-in-law of “El Mencho”. arrest in California on drug trafficking charges. Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa “allegedly took his own life and assumed a false identity to avoid justice and live a life of luxury in California.”